The Rest Is Silence
by Livin In Sin
Summary: I just killed him... I just killed Uchiha Madara... One Shot, Spoilerific.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, simple as.

This is an odd little something I knocked out recently, a sort of reaction to the revelations about Itachi, as you'd expect it's spoilerific.

I've decided to leave this a s a One Shot, since there's been no interest, I'm not being petty about it, its just I would have appreciated it. Besides, I've written out a few scenarios after this and only one is really viable without binging on OC's, maybe if I got a review you'd get to see it. But for now I guess, as they say...

The Rest Is Silence

The End of Everything

That was it then. It was done. With Madara dead the last threat was extinguished, but at what cost? He was there, lying among the broken bodies of Sasuke's comrades, his friends, the ones he had loved and still that accursed Mangekyou stared at him through the mask, taunting him, laughing at his weakness. Limping over to the body the last Uchiha knelt down and plunged his fingers into Madara's eye socket and tore out the wretched thing. The eye stared up at him from the palm of his hand, he could still hear that voice laughing at him, but another voice had surfaced. _Take it. _It said, _It is yours._

Sasuke felt something in his eye change, felt a drop of warm, dark blood trickle down his cheek and the eye burst into black flames, he tossed it away in disgust. "Thank you, Itachi." Shaking, he rose to his feet, he had done it, his purpose was fulfilled. What was there left now? He bent down to pick up his fallen sword but looked in hunger at it, longing for its embrace, he was tired, he wanted to sleep. "Kusanagi?" He said aloud, "Will you drink my blood as you have drunk so many others?" Again, that voice rose, that voice in the back of his mind, the voice of madness. _Yes, of course... Sasuke-kun._

"Sasuke!"

"Naruto?" Before Sasuke could move, Naruto had thrown his arms around the Uchiha's shoulders, soon to be joined by Sakura. "Naruto." Sasuke said, returning to his normal monotone, "Naruto."

"What?"

"Get offa me you idiot!" Sasuke yelled, shrugging them both off and striking Naruto on the head with the sword's handle before sheathing it elegantly. He looked down at Naruto who was now down in the dirt clutching his head.

"You're a real pal, Sasuke." The Uchiha smiled, his first genuine smile in nigh on four years, he offered a hand to Naruto and helped him up. He simply shot a smile and a sly wink to Sakura, who blushed uncontrollably, some things didn't change. It was at this point that Kakashi arrived, drenched from head to foot in water from his fight with Kisame.

"I got 'im." He said simply and Team 7 burst into laughter.

* * *

The Hokage's office was quiet. The assembled survivors were here to remember their fallen, most notably the Fifth. Kakashi stood behind the desk with the other Jounins, who were few and far between, only Gai and Neji remained that survivours of the Rookie Nine recognised. Kakashi sighed heavily, "I suppose we'd better get started." Then to Sasuke's amazement he took Tsuinade's former seat. "Sasuke. Step forward." From across the room Naruto gave his friend a thumbs up and Sakura who was stood by him placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Standing in front of the new Hokage, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little awed, he gave a small bow. "Uchiha Sasuke." Kakashi began, "You stand accused of deserting your village, attempting to kill your comrades and nearly bringing about the destruction of Konoha. How do you plead?"

"Guilty." Sasuke said simply.

"Then." Kakashi said heavily, "I have no choice... but to absolve you of any wrongdoing and promote you to Jounin rank effective immediately. Naruto, Sakura, you too." He didn't remove his mask, but as with so many other things about Kakashi, you could tell he was smiling from his eyes. "You have all served Konoha greatly these last few days... and you all owe me a drink."

Shouts of excitement and praise rang up, everyone who was anyone wanted to shake his hand, he could barely get out of the office and when he did the whole of Konoha was there to cheer him home. Home, where he hadn't been for almost four years, the place was exactly as he'd left it. Laying down the Sword of Kusanagi by his bed he flopped down onto the matress, sending up a torrent of dust, but he was too tired, against the grains he squeezed his eyes closed and fell into a world of shadows. A lot of things were about to change and he had to be ready for them.

* * *

It was like a dream, a dream of being in a dream. Or maybe, inside a nightmare. "Sasuke." The voice was familiar and he had hated it for most of his life, "Sasuke, you did what I could not." Sasuke stood in a darkened room with only one window, a giant circular stained glass one depicting the Eternal Mangekyou. Before it stood a figure swathed in shadows, a figure he knew could only be Itachi, now free of his Akatsuki robes, the charade he had maintained for so long and standing there in his old ANBU uniform, it was at best nostalgic. "But you must end it tonight, it cannot be allowed to continue."

"Itachi. Why? Why did you come back?" Sasuke questioned, struggling to keep the tears from his eyes, "Why? Why?" There were so many questions he wanted to ask, all wrapped up in one word.

"Why did I do what I did?" Itachi finished for him, "It was my mission, but like I said... I didn't have the strength to finish it. As for why I'm here, well I suppose you could say this is my 'ultimate genjutsu' so that I could live on with Amaterasu as long as you survived. But that wont be for long."

"What? Why?"

"You'll know what to do. I trust you, Sasuke-kun." He began to float backward toward the window, dissolving into a flock of birds as he did so, but these were not coal black as they had been, but brilliant white. He left the ground and passed into the pupil of the stained glass window and was gone.

Sasuke crashed to his knees and his last words to his brother rang all around the room, "Nii-san!" Clenching his jaw shut the years of tears began to catch up with him, so much agony, sadness and loss and for what? Where had it brought them, it had brought him at last into the presence of his true enemy. What appeared an eyelid closed of the window and a cold laughter echoed as it began to shrink from its frame, soon resolving itself into the form of Uchiha Madara.

"Poor poor Itachi." He mocked, "He never believed in my cause either. He thought we'd lost for good ever since the Valley of the End. But I guess I'm about to prove him wrong." The Akatsuki cloak swept about as he walked towards Sasuke, his hand poised as Itachi's had been to take away the one thing that Sasuke had left. "Your Sharingan will be mine. And I will live again."

Sasuke's hand leaped to his sword, but as soon as he'd drawn it Madara brushed his hand aside. "What do you see, Sasuke?" As soon as he'd spoken the words he wailed with pain, beyond him Sasuke could make out the figure of Itachi, his shoulders slumped, his 'life' clearly all but spent and his kunai sunk solidly into Madara's back. The ancient Uchiha whirled around, striking Itachi with the back of his hand and sending him sprawling across the floor. "You stupid, stupid boy! I offer you the world and you have the tenacity to throw it back at me?"

Itachi lay on his back not far away, reaching out a hand toward Sasuke but looking straight at Madara his last words came painfully and accompanied by blood and bile, but they were clear enough in this world of illusion, "Man...gekyou... Sharingan." Madara burst into a blaze of black flame, staggering back toward Saskuke, but being met by the Sword of Kusanagi, which Sasuke thrust straight through the back of his skull and through that eye which he hated so much.

"I see you! DEAD!"

* * *

Sasuke awoke sitting by his bed, was that his blood pooling on the floor or Madara's? It didn't matter, they were both dead anyway, but then, why was he still so lucid? Kusanagi lay in his hand, swimming in the black blood of Madara and the light shade which was his own. _I see._ It didn't matter though, they were both dead anyway.

He heard the splintering of wood, and the shouts of concern of a familiar voice, but it didn't matter. As he slipped into blackness he was met by a single, piercing Sharingan eye. "Sasuke, come home."

_I just killed him, I just killed Uchiha Madara. The Uchiha clan is finished. The rest... is silence. Thank you... Itachi._


End file.
